Process for the manufacture of multicolored filaments



Feb. 9, 1937. R. BARTUNEK ET AL 2,070,194

PROCESS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF MULTIGOLORED FILAMENTS Filed June 15,1934 4 Patented Feb. 9, 1937 UNITED STATES PROCESS FOR THE MANUFACTUREOF MULTICOLORED FILAMENTS Richard Bartunek, Teltow-Seehof, near Berlin,

August Hartmann,

Berlin-Lichterfelde,

hann Joseph Stoeckly, Teltow-Seehof, near Berlin, and JohannesUytenbogaart, Berlin- Lichterfelde, Germany,

assignors to North American Rayon Corporation, a corporation of DelawareApplication June 15, 1934, Serial No. 730,718 In Germany June 17, 1933 2Claims.

It has, heretofore, been proposed to obtain colored artificial silk byadmixing dyes, organic and mineral pigments to the cellulosic spinningsolution before the same is spun. Unfortunately however, it has beenimpossible to find for each and every color and color shade,respectively, a suitable dye possessing a sufficiently large coveringpower and resistance to attack by the chemical reagents present in thespinning solution. In addition, it has been found impractical to operatewith so many different pigments in the manufacture of artificial silk.

One object of the present invention is the use of only a few andselected pigments to produce multicolored artificial silk.

A second object of the present invention consists of the mixing ofdifferently colored spinning solution batches prior to entering thespinning machines and an arrangement therefor.

A third object of this invention is the production of color pastesadapted to be added to spinning solutions.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent to those skilled inthe art after a study of the following specification.

The basic idea of the present invention consists in producingmulticolored artificial silk, horse hair, ribbons, films, etc. fromcellulosic spinning solutions, such as viscose, cellulose esters,cellulose ethers, cuprammonium cellulose, etc., by adding thereto priorto the spinning thereof a limited number of stable pigments. Since it isnecessary that these pigments be inert towards chemical reactionsinduced by the spinning solution, the spinning baths and the reagentsused in the finishing of the yarn, a special dye has, heretofore, beenselected to produce a distinct color shade. This practice necessitates,however, the use of a huge number of separate dyes in view of themultitude of color shades demanded by the customers. In order toovercome these drawbacks, the present invention contemplates the use offine color pigments of that type used in color printing, these pigmentsbeing characterized by a high covering power. I have, moreover, found byexperimentation that it is possible to produce almost any color shade inartificial silk by using at least two pigments. Better results areobtained by employing three or more pigments, for example, a red, yellowand blue pigment in combination with a white and black pigment, thelatter pigments serving to control the brightness and the degree ofsaturation of the color. Suitable pigments are the following:

For red: Pergamentrot F 4 R (a color lake) and Chromred (tin chromate).

For yellow: I-Iensagelb 5 G and zinc yellow.

For blue: Ostenblau B. C. D. and cobalt blue.

For white: Titanium oxide and zirconium white.

For black: American carbon black and carbon black.

In order to produce a distinct color, such as green, one may use twocolor pigments of the aforementioned groups, for example parts ofHensagelb and 50 parts of Ostenblau. The following examples will serveto explain the working principle of the invention.

Example 1 Example 2 In order to produce a film having a strong greencolor, following Example 1, 600 g. Hensagelb 5 G and 300 g. Ostenblau B.C. D. are added to 1 cubic meter of viscose.

Example 3 For the production of ribbons a wide film is first formed andthe same subsequently cut into strips. For this purpose two inorganicpigments, namely 2 parts of Ultramarin and 1 part of Zincgelb arehomogeneously dispersed in 100 parts of cellulose acetate containingabout cellulose.

It is to be noted that, according to this invention, two or morepigments are employed to produce a product of distinct color, thesepigments being optically independent from each other, for example a purered and blue or a pure yellow and blue. Even such pigments may be usedhaving several wave-lengths in common, provided they may be regarded asbeing optically independent. In addition to the two basic colors, awhite pigment (zinc oxide, titanium oxide, zircom'um oxide, tin oxide,etc.) or a black one (carbon black or the like) respectively, may beused in combination therewith. According to this invention, it ispossible to produce directly, the desired color shades, whereas theywould otherwise have to be obtained by a number of treatments indyebaths in the conventional manner.

Instead of dispersing all of the pigments used in a cellulosic spinningsolution, it is also contemplated to add only one dye to such asolution, or, in other words, to dye part of the spinning solution forexample blue and the remainder yellow. The blue and yellow coloredspinning solutions are then united by mixing to produce the color shadedesired shortly before entering the spinning machines. Fig. l of theattached drawing depicts a suitable arrangement for carrying out thisprocess. Normally dyed spinning solutions are stored in the vessels 5,2, and 3. These three spinning solutions may be for example, red, yellowand blue, and it is also possible to provide two additional vesselscontaining black and white spinning solutions. The vessels 1, 2, and 3are connected with the pipes l, 5, and 3, respectively. The pipes l, 8,and 9 branch off from the pipes 4, 5, and 6, respectively, and theycontain power-driven feeding pumps, for example gear pumps If], H, andi2 which may be closed by the cooks l3, M, and i5. These branch pipesterminate in a common mixing piunp 55, from which the definitely mixedspinning solution reaches the spinning machine I8. From the vessels l 2,and 3 and the corresponding pipes, other spinning machines i8 and I8 maybe supplied in analogous manner by means of branch tubes, feeding andmixing pumps with spinning solutions. In this manner it is possible toobtain any color shade desired from a few pro-colored spinning solutionswhich are stored in a few vessels and fed through permanent pipes to theplaces of consumption. At these places of consumption, i. e. thespinning machines, measured quantities of the various standard solutionsare withdrawn, mixed in suitable proportions, and fed to the spinningmachines. The proportions of the colored spinning solution batchesdepend upon the denier of the filaments to be spun. In this manner it isonly necessary to vary these proportions in order to vary the color ofthe finished artificial silk. Only the portions of spinning solutiondelivered by the cocks 13, i i, and i5 must be controlled while allother conduits before these cocks continuously deliver the same dyesolutions. It has also been found that it is advantageous to unite thedifferently colored spinning solution batches before the spinningmachines.

A modification of this invention contemplates using pigment pastes whichare added to the cellulosic spinning solutions. Two or more pigments aremixed together in paste form and dispersed in the spinning solution. Itis also possible to color part of the spinning solution with the pigmentpaste and to continuously feed this composition in measured quantitiesto the principal spinning solution. In this manner it is possible toproduce multicolored cellulosic products, such as artificial silk, horsehair, ribbons, films from viscose, cuprammonium, cellulose acetate andcellulose ether solutions without changing the principal feed lines ofthe spinning machines. It is only necessary to finely disperse thepigment paste in the principal spinning solution before the same entersthe spinning machine. The quantity of pigment paste to be incorporateddepends upon the pigments per se, their proportions in the paste and thefinal color shades desired. A change of the depth of color and even ofthe color shade can be made without interrupting the spinning process.

While I have found that the ingredients and proportions mentioned abovegive the desired results, I do not wish to be limited to the use of allof these ingredients, to these ingredients and no others, nor to theexact proportions set forth above, since the omission of someingredients or a slight variation of the proportions cited above willnot adversely affect the final products, although it may vary somewhatthe relative characteristics of such products resulting from suchvariations. Modifications of the invention will manifest themselves tothose skilled in the art, and I desire to include such of these comingwithin the scope of the appended claims.

In the claims carbon black will be used in a generic sense to includeAmerican carbon black.

What is claimed is:

l. The method of producing insitu colored filaments of artificial silkof any desired hue which comprises preparing separate batches ofcellulosic solutions differently colored, continuously flowing andintimately mixing together regulated quantities of at least two separatebatches of said solutions to form a single batch having the desired hueand, thereafter, extruding regulated quantities of the last mentionedbatch to produce a thread having the desired colored. characteristics.

2. An apparatus for use in preparing colored artificial silk filamentsof any desired hue including a plurality of separate storage tanks, eachtank containing a cellulosic spinning solution previously colored with aprimary or basic color, individual feed pumps and supply pipesconnecting each of said tanks, individual flow regulating control valvesin each of said supply lines, a series of supply pipes emptying into acommon mixing chamber, a pump connected to said mixing chamber anddischarging regulated quantities of the mixed solutions to a filamentforming machine,

RICHARD BARTUNEK. AUGUST I-IARTMANN. JOHANN JOSEPH STOECKLY. J OHANNESUYTENBOGAART.

